That and Nothing More
by FeatherWings
Summary: Sequel to Worn Out, Pietro has been released from the hospital and comes to live at the X-Mansion.
1. Chapter 1

That and Nothing More

By: FeatherWings

"I couldn't find the answers." Pietro stared across the street from under his hood and through the rain to a large stone building. It was a gray memory that had faded with time but never dulled. "Back then. I couldn't find the answers." a thought that often echoed in the back of his mind. "But...that's because...there were none." He watched Wanda cry out for him and he could do nothing but stare as both their worlds divided and broke apart. As he stared he fell with his world to pieces and wondered if it was the same for his sister.

His head bumped against the cold glass of the limousine window awakening him from his nightmare. It was raining just as it was those many years ago and as he realized this, he found himself watching the many tiny raindrops race down the window. The day was as gray and faded as that memory that never ceased to replay; the thoughts still echoing through time.

"Pietro, are you okay?" a woman's voice asked from the seat next to him. He turned his head to meet his sister sitting calmly. He should have replied to her but he felt drowsy and unable to think properly.

He came to realize there was a duffle bag at his feet and he began to remember what was taking place. Pietro felt like a ghost; a shadow still attached to the barred windows and brick walls. By repeating his past and fallowing his prison; he became stuck in limbo.

"The sky was so blue before." Wanda looked out the back window as she tried to get her brother to talk.

"I never saw a blue sky." she turned her head to look directly at Pietro who only stared, eyes half-closed, at the back of an empty seat in front of him.

Wanda once wondered how each of them would fly if they were able to fly. The only way she would start to fly would be clumsy and pathetic. Yet she knew this was different for her brother. Wanda had watched Pietro since they left the hospital and were now driving to the mansion. Pietro had seemed hopeful when they left but now he looked distressed and bottled up. What was wrong? What happened?

"Pietro?" he cringed at the sound of his name. Hank looked in the mirror to get a look at the twins but said nothing.

"I don't want to go." his white hair hung over and shielded his eyes. Wanda could see him shaking.

Yes, it was different for her brother. Her brother refused to try. He broke his own wings and let himself fall. Wanda felt the anger building in her and she couldn't keep it in check. "Why the hell not?" she almost sounded hurt. She knew she shouldn't yell at her brother but she couldn't help it and she couldn't analyze why at the moment.

Pietro sat shaking and upon seeing thins Wanda's anger diminished. She chewed on her bottom lip searching for the words that would reassure her brother. After letting an idea pass through her thoughts she acted on it.

Wanda slid across the seat to her brother who hadn't bothered to look up. "Pietro? It's okay." she reached to move his hair out of his eyes but he jerked away from her and she pulled back from him. "Pietro?"

"They know of me." Pietro said through his shaking. Wanda stared at her twin. A few moments passed and Pietro shook his head then turned to Wanda. "Never mind. Forget what I said. I'm just tired."

"We're almost there." Hank announced and made Pietro cringe again. Wanda didn't take her eyes off of him. Was it the sudden realization that he would be living with people he'd known made him so upset? Wanda wondered.

The limousine pulled unto the X-mansion driveway but luckily no one was waiting for them at the entrance except Professor X, Logan and Ororo who stood warmly to welcome Pietro. Only Pietro really didn't want to be welcomed at the moment.

The young mutant swallowed hard as he stepped out of the limo and into their sight. The duffle bag of his clothes slung over his shoulder and across his chest. He focused his eyes on the concrete and could feel eyes watching him. Wanda touched his arm and he jumped in surprise then hurried up the steps, stopped in front of the older mutants without lifting his head. The rain beating against him; they let him inside.

"Welcome, Pietro. I'm sure you've already met-" the Professor's words seemed to fade into the background for Pietro.

'Why am I here?' he thought. 'I didn't know what reality was before and I still don't know now.'

"Pietro, come this way." They older mutants walked deeper into the mansion. Pietro was pushed out of his thoughts. His sister stood for a moment then walked ahead while turning to look back as if to ask, "Are you coming?"

"You're sure you feel alright?" Pietro jumped at Hank's voice. The Beast now stood next to him.

"Uh..." Pietro hesitated. "I'm fine."

"Are you really fine, or are you just saying you are so I'll leave you alone?" They started to catch up with the others.

"Maybe both?" he shook his head. "I don't know. I feel mixed up right now." Upon catching up with the others the group continued upstairs, making their way to Pietro's new bedroom. They made their way slowly up the stairs and began their way down the hall of rooms; Pietro took in every detail around him. Rain dripped from his white hair, mussy and knotted from neglect.

When they made it to the room, Pietro walked in then walked straight to the window and stared out. He counted the drops of water that fell from his hair. Ororo and Logan were dismissed. "Okay, Pietro. I'm going to leave you now. If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask." he nodded to Hank who nodded back then turned and left.

Pietro began to wonder if he was some sort of experiment; and inconvenience; a problem that no one wanted to deal with. He was a kid again, being passed from one person to the next. He didn't budge. He stood coldly at the window. He heard whispering then footsteps leaving the room and knew it was Wanda.

"What happened? You weren't acting like this before."

"I don't know what's going on."

"What do you mean?"

"You stick me in a hospital for months and months and then you tare me out of what I knew or what I thoughts I knew."

"Didn't you want this?" the words hit Pietro.

"Yeah...I guess I did..."

"We'll talk about it more after you change. You're soaking wet."

"Yeah. Okay." Beast got up, walked out the door and closed it after him.

Pietro peeled off his shirt then began to rummage through the duffle bag. He pulled out a black long-sleeved shirt with thick white stripes on the sleeves and put it on then changed his pants to a pair of black jeans that were tighter than the other ones. Pietro looked down at his wrist and found several marks slashed across it. He traced them with his fingers.

The boy stepped out of his room to be met with Wanda who innocently leaned against the wall. "Are you okay, Pietro?"

He didn't want to make Wanda worry. "Yeah... Yeah, I'm fine." he smiled.

"Let's go down to the kitchen. I'm thirsty." Wanda told her brother.

"Okay." Pietro hoped there wouldn't be anyone else there but with his luck there most likely was. There would probably be every mutant in the mansion in the kitchen with his luck but he didn't want to say no to his sister.

"Pietro?" Her voice was stern as if she were trying to keep up her bad-ass reputation.

"Yeah?"

"Are you hungry?" Now she was acting strange to him. Why would she be asking if he was hungry? He pondered it for a second before coming up with the explanation that she was thinking of the time he stopped eating. His past had come to bite him in the ass again.

"A little. Why?"

"Because those clothes really show how skinny you are." Pietro's face drained of color. He hadn't thought of that. He had never really gained back that much weight from when he stopped eating that time. His weight now seemed normal to him.

Wanda noticed Pietro's sudden fear and cursed herself for saying anything. She knew what he was thinking too. He wanted to run and hide like he so often did. But Wanda decided she wouldn't let him do that anymore.

Pietro turned around and started walking the other way but Wanda grabbed his arm. She pulled him back in the right direction and she knew Pietro wasn't happy about it. In fact, he was pissed about it. "Let go, Wanda." he said. She gave another tug and Pietro growled. "Do I look that bad?"

"No. Of course not. But you look hungry so come on!" he growled again but this time turned and followed her.

Wanda frowned as she felt how thin Pietro's arm was but she didn't let Pietro see. She couldn't deny that she was worried beyond words for him but she couldn't exactly say it. She was used to bottling herself up.

They entered the kitchen to be met with Kurt and Todd who had actually become friends since the Brotherhood moved in. Everyone was silent for a moment and then the two other mutants smiled warmly to greet Pietro. Kurt was the first to speak.

"Hey. How are you doing, Pietro?" his mind jumped back to the day Pietro tried to end his life. Pietro's eyes wandered around the room. They focused briefly on this and that but did not stay settled on one thing for very long.

"We all missed you. We were hoping you'd get better quickly." Todd tried to tell Pietro who was no longer really listening. His eyes began to focus on the T.V. The news was on and then Pietro began to realize what the news reporter was talking about. The hospital? Abusing a patient? Hyram?

"Hyram?" Pietro said aloud. Kurt, Todd and Wanda looked to the T.V.

"Is that your hospital?" Kurt asked.

"Isn't it?" Todd asked.

"It is!" Wanda gasped.

"I knew him. He was my friend." Pietro stood staring at the screen. His mouth slightly ajar but he was not surprised about the abuse. Of course not; he had known. What he was surprised and thankful for, was that they found out.

-To be continued-

FeatherWings- well, it took me forever to write and post but here's the first chapter of the sequel to Worn Out! Yay! Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

That And Nothing More

Chapter 2

FeatherWings: I haven't updated anything in so long. Too long.

Wanda ran down the hallway which stayed silently cast in shadow. Doors opened all around her as heads peeked out from behind. They whispered "What's going on?" and their voices filled the silence. The hallway stretched out before her and echoed her every thought. 'Pietro!' she cried, 'Pietro!'

She threw the door to his room open and her eyes rested on the sleeping figure, then to the little white pills scattered on the floor. 'Pietro!' she tried to step forward but found herself nearly paralyzed, all she could do was walk at a snail's pace.

Upon reaching the bed, she touched his forehead feeling that it was ice-cold. His lips were tinted blue. Wanda's face was streaked with tears and she was almost unable to speak. All she could manage to whisper was, "Pietro."

Wanda woke in a cold sweat. She felt as if she were still in the nightmare. She could not move, she could not speak; all she could do was stare up at the ceiling and hope that reality would spare her the heartache.

There was a knock at her door and she turned her head to welcome the visitor. Todd, the unwelcome visitor.

"Hey, Honey! You alright? It's lunchtime, you know." he hopped to her bedside.

"It's what?" she asked.

"Lunchtime." he repeated as she put a hand to her forehead.

"How's Pietro?" she asked, still thinking of her dream.

"What? Oh, he's fine. I guess. Why?"

"Nothing." she swung her feet over the side of the bed and cradled her head in her hands feeling a wave of dizziness take over. "It's nothing..." She was tired, so tired. Everything seemed distant and she felt detached from the world. Was this how Pietro felt all the time?

"You alright, Wanda? You don't look so good yo..."

"I'm fine. It's nothing really..."

* * *

"Can't you give me something?" Pietro asked Hank. "I haven't slept in six days!" Hank continued his work even while listening to the white haired mutant. He was grinning, thinking that Pietro seemed very different than he had when he first arrived. Though many people would not be able to tell, he seemed more open and relaxed. But perhaps it was just the sleep deprivation.

"Like what? Sleeping pills?" Pietro nodded. "You don't need sleeping pills, Pietro. This doesn't count as insomnia. Six days does not make you an insomniac." Hank tried to make it very clear.

"Then what does?" Pietro followed the blue mutant as he walked around the room. He was starting to get in the way but Hank didn't say anything. He always seemed to stay calm and collected.

"Pietro, what's really going on? Why can't you sleep?" he looked him square in the eyes but Pietro shrugged his shoulders. "Think."

"Okay, maybe I feel guilty?"

"About your friend, right?"

"How did you-?"

Hank walked out of the room. "You don't need sleeping pills, Pietro." he called to him. Pietro sighed and leaned on the table behind him unknowingly knocking a pile of papers over. Pietro jumped and reached for them as they fluttered to the ground and just like that they slowed and stopped mid-air.

"What...the...?" A few seconds later they moved again and continued their descent. He stood up slowly and gazed at the papers in confusion. He looked down at his hands, peeking out from the sleeves of his navy blue hoody which he now wore often because he usually felt cold. Countless thoughts raced through his head and he found himself unable to stop them.

* * *

"Okay. I'm not fine." Wanda muttered as she dragged herself out of her room. She was still in her pajamas and not thinking straight.

"Wanda! Let me get someone!" Todd hopped out after her and reached for her. She pulled away.

"No!" She turned her face in the opposite direction.

"Why not?" she didn't answer him. "That's it. I'm getting Dr. McCoy..." Todd hopped away down the hall. Wanda leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. Her face was flustered and even though she had slept all morning, she was still tired.

"Pietro!" she called out, still shaking him. "Why won't you wake up, you idiot!?"

Pietro's mouth moved and she brought her ear closer to hear. But all he did was repeat her name over and over.

"Why'd you do it? Why? I need you! You're my brother, god damnit!" she brushed away stray strands of hair from his face. "Now wake up!" she buried her face in his chest. "Wake...up!"

"Wanda..."Pietro said as he sat by her bedside in the infirmary. "You sure she's alright?" he asked Hank who was picking up the papers Pietro had knocked over. Hank looked up at him.

"She'll be fine with a few days rest." he answered calmly. "Shouldn't you get some rest as well?"

"I'm not tired." Pietro looked at Wanda's sleeping form. "What's wrong with her?"

"I told you. It's just that virus that's been going around. A few of the others had it too." Pietro's eyes fell to the ground. Hank smiled then frowned. "How did you knock these over again?" he said trying to change the subject. Pietro was silent a moment. "I was clumsy. Sorry about that."

"Pietro?" Wanda's voice was cracking and tears filled her eyes ready to flow down her flushed cheeks.

"Wanda!" Pietro stood up quickly. Dr. McCoy rushed over as well.

"Pietro, why don't you go get her a glass of water?" Pietro nodded and hurried off. "How are you feeling, Wanda?" her tears were flowing freely now as she struggled to sit up. Dr. McCoy helped her.

"Was I...?"

"Dreaming? Probably. Fevers do tend to give people strange dreams. Were they very bad?"

"They were just dreams...nightmares..." her eyes wandered around the room. She felt unable to rest.

* * *

Pietro entered the dark kitchen. He thought it was unusually small for a mansion. He thought this every time he entered and by now he knew where everything was even if it had only been about a week since he came to the mansion. He had learned that many of the other mutants had gone away for spring break which he had completely forgotten about.

He filled a glass full of tap water. It was cold against his skin. It made him realize just how cold the whole mansion was and he began to shiver. 'Something doesn't feel right..." he thought, staring into his reflection in the water. It felt as if the whole room was shaking with him until he realized...it was.

"Pietro." a stern voice said from behind him, startling him and making his whole body tense. He dropped the glass of water and it went shattering to the floor as he turned to meet the gaze of his father. "Where have you been, Pietro? I was...concerned." Pietro's eyes widened. He remained silent and unable to do a thing. "Well?" Magneto's voice was filled with annoyance and that's what set him off.

Pietro reached behind him and pulled out a knife from a wooden knife holder. Then, before Magneto could register what his son was doing, Pietro dug the knife deep into Magneto's side.

He stepped back, stunned at what he had just done.

To be continued...

FeatherWings: Don't worry I already started the next chapter. I'll try to get it up soon!

Erikstrulove: Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

When love and death embrace: I'm sorry you had to wait so long!

Ac-chan: Please forgive me for being so slow with updating!

MINX loves sequels!: Thank you for reading this story too!

Zukosgal21: Please keep reading!

ragni mithrim: I'm sorry you had to wait!


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